[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 50 (Tuesday, April 1, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E461]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  IN RECOGNITION OF SERVICE OF FRANK FARMER AND DON WESSEL AS CHARTER 
  MEMBERS TO THE OZARKS TECHNICAL COMMUNITY COLLEGE BOARD OF TRUSTEES

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. ROY BLUNT

                              of missouri

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, April 1, 2008

  Mr. BLUNT. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor two men who have 
spent many years serving their community in Springfield, Missouri, as 
charter members of the Board of Trustees of the Ozarks Technical 
Community College. Frank Farmer and Don Wessel both enjoyed long and 
distinguished careers in private business before being selected by 
their neighbors to serve on the newly created Board of Trustees, 
following the creation of the school in April 1990. They have each been 
reelected to consecutive terms since then; at the end of this month, 
both men will be ending their tenure of service.
  Farmer and Wessel helped shape the growth and direction of a school 
that serves the students of 13 public school districts in southwest 
Missouri--and far beyond that. The growth of the school has been 
nothing short of a phenomenon, with enrollment this year topping more 
than 10,000 students. OTC, as it is known to many local students and 
residents, is also moving forward on plans to expand its operation to a 
second campus in Ozark, Missouri, with an eye on affording greater 
accessibility to its growing student body.
  From its modest beginnings in central Springfield at the old 
vocational-technical school, OTC has blossomed into a modern campus 
that has helped revitalized center Springfield and help train its local 
youth.
  From the beginning, Farmer and Wessel led the way in developing the 
infrastructure and educational leadership OTC would depend upon for its 
spectacular growth. First they hired an effective president in Norman 
Myers. The board of trustees, led by president Wessel from 1992 to 1994 
and Farmer from 1994 to 1996, embarked on a plan to build new classroom 
buildings and greatly expand the number and diversity of available 
courses available to students.
  Farmer's background in education includes service on the Willard 
Board of Education, on which he also served as president. Journalist, 
author and dairyman, Farmer has lent his experience and expertise to 
several public boards and charities, while attending to his duties as 
the editorial page editor of the Springfield News-Leader before his 
retirement there.
  Wessel is a well-known car dealer and philanthropist, who has been 
active in the Springfield Chamber of Commerce, American Red Cross, Cox 
Medical Centers, and has served on virtually every public and civic 
board in the Springfield area.
  To Mr. Farmer and Mr. Wessel, I wish to extend a heartfelt ``thank 
you and well done'' for their untiring work over the last two decades. 
Their unflagging efforts have made the Springfield area a better place 
in which to live, and the Ozarks Technical Community College a beacon 
of educational excellence for the entire region.

                          ____________________